MAPLE PLAIN, Minn. — Summer is filled with mysteries. Case in point: Why can some people consistently pick the most flavorful, crisp watermelon for every picnic or potluck, while I invariably choose clunkers — mealy and mushy — that seem to contain notes of sawdust?
This is why I asked melon grower Jeff Nistler to show me around his Maple Plain farm where he tends to five varieties of watermelon and nine kinds of cantaloupe. If anyone could detect a delicious melon, it’s Nistler.
Rather than scoff at my ignorance, he sympathized with me — and anyone who’s resorted to sniffing or thumping their produce in a supermarket.
“The consumer is at quite a disadvantage when selecting a melon,” he said.
That’s because some of the telltale signs of ripeness that growers rely on are no longer apparent by the time watermelons arrive at the grocery store, or even at the farmers’ market.
In the field, the first thing Nistler inspects is the melon’s tendril, the little curlicue on the plant. It must be dry and brown, signaling that the melon is ripe.
But the humble melon shopper never sees this signature clue in the store. Not only is there no tendril, but the entire selection of melons, to the untrained eye, may appear flawless.
“In the store, things are produced to look perfect and ship,” said Nistler.
The other way he knows a watermelon is ready? He cuts and tastes it. (Don’t try that in the produce aisle.)
Standing in his tall rubber boots beside his UTV, Nistler used a kitchen knife to halve a perfectly round melon over a makeshift cutting board. When the blade cleaved through, the melon produced a popping sound — another sign it was ready. A gorgeous red flesh appeared.
As Nistler took a bite, the grin that emerged on his face was almost the size of his giant watermelon wedge. He offered a slice to me, and for a moment there was no place I’d rather be than among his rows of melon, devouring that sweet decadence.
“Don’t you feel a certain kind of happiness? Anything that ails you, a melon is good for,” Nistler said, only half-jokingly. For those of us who can’t sample melons in the field, here are some tips for purchasing this picnic table staple — just in time for the last few summer gatherings.
Look for the field spot
This is Nistler’s top piece of advice, by far. When a watermelon rests on the ground, it develops a field spot. For typical melons that have the green rinds with jagged stripes, the field spot should be yellow, rather than white or a pale green, for optimum ripeness. For melons that are more solid and dark on the outside — like the Black Diamond variety — the field spot should be a deep yellow, turning orange.
“You wish you could have a spectrometer to see into (the melon), but you can’t. So it really comes down to that yellow spot,” he said.
